The Promise of Vengance
by Little Ol' Cricket Bug
Summary: Considered a dangerous apostate, Awena Donlin makes her life hiding from Templars in the Wilds. That is until an old woman asks her for a favor. This favor sends her halfway around Thedas and into deeper troubles than she could ever have dreamed.
1. Prolouge

**Prologue **

_'Apostate does not always mean malificarium, it's time someone told Thedas that.'_ Awena thought as she wove her way through the droves of trees in front of her. She could hear the templar's heavy footsteps clanking along behind her, his chainmail making that unpleasant jangling noise she had come to hate so much. She ducked behind a tree and pulled out one of the plain, steel daggers she managed to steal off the last caravan that had come too close to the Hinterlands. She heard the templar's footsteps falter, his breathing so loud even she could hear it.

"Come out, apostate!" He spat out her title like a curse. "We do this for your own good. We must protect you, from yourselves!"

"Never," whispered Awena and flung herself out from behind the tree. The templar stood before her, eyes wide in surprise. Before he even had time to lift his weapon, she muttered a freezing spell. His body stopped mid-movement, his sword half raised in defense. She took a moment to study her opponent. Just like all the others, same armor, same cocky attitude, and by the Maker even the same hair.

"May the Maker create and keep you," Awena plunged a dagger into the templar's heart. He made no noise and as she watched the fire of life dimmed from his eyes. She bit back tears and turned her back on the lone man, hurrying into The Wilds.

Was this her life now? Always travelling, never resting, and always being chased by a templar or the Circle. She pushed a low hanging pine bough out of her way and walked to the small stream and low stone outcropping she called home…for now. No doubt, she would have to move on in a day or two once the templar's body was found. As she dipped her hands into the painfully cool water, she let her unshed tears fall. How she hated killing Templers, she did it for her safety and for no other reason than that. She detested the way the old hag and her daughter lured them into the forest for sport. If it did not help her cause, she would have stopped them long ago. However, they never bothered her so she never bothered them.

Her head snapped up as a strange, guttural grunt came from the ledge of the stone outcropping. She pulled off to her right and squatted behind a shrub, gripping her dragonbone staff tight to her chest. The most hideous creature she had ever seen stepped from the undergrowth out onto the ledge. Its gnarled teeth were barred in an angry growl and it's wild eyes scanned the forest floor looking for life. It raised a darkened hand to the sky and several others broke from the brush at her level, splashing across the steam. Maker…all that time running from Templars and now she was going to die at the hands of a twisted creature she did not recognize.

To Awena's surprise, the water of the stream bubbled up and swept the feet out from under the creatures nearest here. The others who had held back squealed and disappeared back into the darkness of the Wilds. She dared to poke her head out of her hiding place and saw the strange hunched form of an old woman near her fire. When she drew nearer the old woman reached out a hand and a fire blazed to life beneath it, happily crackling on nothing.

"Come now, girl, is that how you treat someone who has saved your life?" The old woman cackled. Awena finally recognized her, thought the woman looked much better than the last time Awena laid eyes on her.

"Flemeth." Awena sat cross-legged on the ground across the fire from the witch. "To what do I owe the honor?"

"Such pretty words from a pretty girl, did they teach you that in the Circle?" The woman laughed to herself once more before settling her golden eyes upon Awena's gray ones. "So, girl, do you wonder why I chose to save your life? For surely you would have died if I had not interfered."

"What is it you want of me, Flemeth? I hear the stories, just as you do, and I know you save no one without a price." Awena sat her staff across her tattered robes.

"Observant and skillful, two things not often found together in the same woman." Flemeth mused for a second, her silver hair gleaming in the firelight. The longer Awena looked, the more sure she became that Flemeth looked…younger, somehow. "Yes, I do need your help. I have known it for ages it seems, but I never knew when I would need it or why. Why do you think I let you run about the Wilds as you do for so long? It was not out of kindness, I assure you."

"What was the reason?" Awena took a deep breath, trying to work out the other woman's riddles.

"You are not so different, you and I. Once I was young and beautiful too, full of power and ambition…but that is a tale for another time. Do you wish to see your mages freed?" Flemeth leaned forward over the fire, the light twisting her face into something truly demonic. "Yes, you do. I see it in your face. I know the reason you ran from the Circle, it is written all over your face. The Templar's were so strong, your mother so weak, and your father away in the fields. Then to see it happen again, you have long since tempered your anger into a fine steel blade. I asked a young man once how his vengeance would change the world…now I wonder the same of you."

Awena did her best to meet Flemeth's gaze. Her eyes seemed to out glow the fire before her, burning with an intense power she would never know. Flemeth licked her lips and gave a mirthless chuckle. Awena forced herself to relax, waiting for the final offer.

"My daughter, Morrigan, has just set off with the last of the Gray Wardens. The creatures you saw are nothing compared to the vast horde that now marches towards Denerium. If the Warden's fail in this task, your mages will never be free. Find my daughter and place this in with her things, after that I care not what you do, only that you meet me once more in a years time from now outside of Kirkwall." Flemeth lifted up a strange golden ring with a small amber stone placed in the center. It twinkled, fueled by some sort of inner light, which winked out of existence even as Awena watched. She held out her hand and Flemeth pressed the ring to her palm. "Be careful, girl, beware the pitfalls of love for they can cut deeper than any blade."

Before Awena could blink, the witch vanished into thin air, leaving no trace she had ever been in the camp aside from the fire still crackling in the pit. She glanced around her makeshift home and sighed, pulling herself to her feet. She stared down at the tiny ring, wondering what sort of magic it held. She slipped it into a pouch of her rucksack and slung it across her back. It seemed she had a long journey ahead of her, and Morrigan was not getting any closer.


	2. Chapter 1

Awena cringed as she heard a rip from her robes. There went another shred, victim to one of Fereldon's favorite inhabitants the Prickle Bush! How she despised those accursed bushes, they must have been cast aside by the Maker himself. She felt her feet slip slightly and swore aloud, scaring a pair of ravens from a nearby tree. They squawked at her indecency for screaming before continuing on their way to peck the eyes out of dead bodies or whatever ravens did on their free time…oh how she hated ravens.

"You're just bitter," she said to herself, something she had picked up in her lonely times

after her escape. "You'll turn out just like Flemeth if you don't watch it. Look, you're already talking to yourself."  
>Awena shook her head and placed her staff on the ground for support. She had been looking for Morrigan for the better half of two weeks. Andraste's holy knickers, the woman was travelling with two Gray Wardens! How hard could it be to find them? As it turned out…very hard. Everyone in Fereldon was very hush hush about the situation and she only managed to get some information out of a sky-struck dwarf fresh out of Orzammar. The poor thing said he overheard a group of travelers heading for the Village of Haven and that the woman he saw matched Awena's description. So onward to Haven she went, though she wished nothing more than to sit at the base of the mountain and wait for their return. Dark rumors circled Haven and not even an apostate trying to escape the Circle wanted to go near <strong>that<strong> village.

She quieted as voices filtered down from a high stone ledge above her. She slid behind a tree and poked her head out to observe it. A man appeared not long after with close-cropped chestnut hair, his battered blue cloak fluttering in the breeze. She narrowed her eyes to try and get a better look at him. For some reason he seemed familiar. He gazed down into the valley below him, then closed his eyes.

"There is nothing here." He called over his shoulder to invisible party members. "I think you may be losing your touch, Zev."  
>Awena thought for a moment as the man walked out of view. What were the chances of her stumbling upon the Wardens now? The chances of the people at the top of the bluff <em>not<em> being Wardens were very slim. In all honesty, who traipsed about this half of Fereldon for fun? There was no harm in at least looking, but she would have to be careful.

She changed her path and scrambled up the side of the cliff with well-practiced ease. She knew the Western Hills well, there was no better place to hide in Fereldon than the Western Hills and the Wilds. She dropped to her stomach and squirmed up to the open camp, making sure to remain hidden deep within the undergrowth.

She was surprised at the size of the small gathering and even more surprised at its members. Two men stood near the fire while a sad, redheaded girl looked on. A Qunari was stationed proudly a short distance from the flame and all the way on the other side of the camp stood the barely clothed form of Morrigan. Her eyes grazed over the other two members of the party, a blonde elf and by the Maker, Wynne from the Circle of Magi. There was no way from the Fade to Fereldon she wanted to be caught and have to deal with Wynne.

Awena thought maybe the Maker smiled upon her at last, Morrigan was a good distance away from her compatriots. She could wiggle her way over, drop the ring off, and be on her merry, Prickle Bushed way before anyone in the encampment was any the wiser. She pulled back from the camp and scuttled along the edge, hiding wherever she could find cover. Half of her wished she could just walk into the camp and stop fleeing from everything that even remotely sounded like a templar, but she long ago learned the rules to survival. The first one being trust no one and the second one being travel on your own.

The bright flames of Morrigan's little fire were so close and her bag lay open near the edge of the forest. All Awena had to do now was place the ring in her bags and run. She was just about to drop to her knees and crawl when she felt cool metal pressed to her throat.

"I would not take another step, if I were you." A voice muttered, marred by an accent…Antivan if she was any judge. Another blade pressed to the small of her back and she stepped forward at its insistence. She made her way across the grassy camp spot, holding her head high. She should have known Flemeth would get her into trouble, why had she even listened to the crazy witch?

"I found this woman skulking about our camp." Her captor pushed her forward, releasing the blade at her neck. She stumbled, then caught her balance, staring up into the brown eyes of the man she had seen earlier on the cliff. Now that she was up close, she realized she did not know him , he just reminded her of someone she used to know long ago. It panged her heart to even look at him.

"Awena? Awena Donlin?" Wynne's voice broke the silent spell that seemed to descended on the encampment by her arrival. "Thank the Maker, I never thought to see you again!"

Wynne rushed over to her and wrapped her arms around Awena. Wynne had been her teacher, before she was turned over to Irving for 'promising talent'. For ten long years she had listened to Wynne. When she was first brought to the circle at five, Awena thought Wynne was something wonderful and someone to take the place of her mother. As she grew older and more aware of the chains the Circle placed about her neck, Awena thought Wynne a foolish old woman blind to the pains of mages. Awena hated and loved the kind woman hugging her and was not sure how Wynne would react to her escape three years ago. To her surprise, Wynne said nothing and released her with a smile.

"I know this woman." The lilting voice of Morrigan came from near the edge of the group surrounding her.

"_You_ know _her_?" The man pointed to Awena with a raised eyebrow.

"Tis not so uncommon for me to know a person, Harlin Cousland, but I do know her…at least of her." Morrigan stepped further into the group. "She ran about the Wilds and Mother let her, claiming that one day she would be useful."

"So she is another apostate?" A new voice asked and Awena's eyes slid over to the man who stood behind Harlin and felt her heart stop. Templar…there was no doubt about it, She fought the urge to pull away as he met her eyes. For a moment, the entire camp seemed to disappear and she was only aware of the strange man staring at her. There was something about him…she could not place her finger on what, but By the Maker he had some of the most fantastic eyes she had ever seen.

"She was once from the Fereldon Circle," Wynne stepped in-between her and the Cousland, breaking off the gaze Awena shared with the man. "Do not harm her."

"You protect her even though she is an apostate?" Harlin fixed her with a meaningful stare.

"Yes, she was once of the Circle and I hope she may one day return. You allow Morrigan to stay, though she is an apostate." Wynne crossed her arms, obviously not pleased with the Warden.

"She is useful." The man shrugged, but Awena could see how uncomfortable the conversation made him.

"As is Awena, she was better than any mage I had ever seen at the tower." Wynne's anger was tangible and Awena did not envy Cousland, her wrath could be terrible.

"She could have been sent by Loghain! Remember the last mage who escaped from the Circle we encountered? Jowan may have killed the Arl! He is the reason we are on this wild goose chase!" The second man said, but Harlin put a hand to his chest to stop him from speaking further.

"I was not sent by this Loghain, I do not even know who in the Maker's Name he is. Why do you ask others questions about me when I am standing right in front of you?" Awena's silver eyes flashed to Cousland's.

"Fine, have it your way." He crossed his arm and stared down his nose at her "You truly have no idea who Teyrn Loghain is?"

"I know him, though I do not know why he would send me to you. Last I heard he was starting to Ostagar with the King." Awena shrugged, she knew her information was out of date but there was no reason to hide that fact.

"Harlin, the girl is from The Wilds. I would not have known such a thing if Mother had not sent me to keep watch on the army." Morrigan said. If it weren't such a serious moment, Awena's jaw would have dropped to the ground. She would have never thought Morrigan would stand up for her.

"The King is dead, Loghain left him to die on the field and has now taken over as Regent." The apathetic voice Harlin used while describing the events disturbed Awena.

"What?" She could scarcely believe Teyrn Loghain would do that, but as she studied the other party members and saw their looks of sadness and regret she could not help but believe them. Her eyes met those of the strange man once more and her heart almost broke from the hurt she saw there.

"It's true. Now we are Gray Wardens," Harlin gestured to himself and to the man behind him. "We are trying to stop Loghain and the Blight at the same time. What are you doing here?"

"Good question." Awena's heart pounded. She couldn't just say Flemeth sent her because...well to be honest it just sounded absolutely daft. Awena's mind filtered through several different options before her mind landed on one."I'm here to help."

"What? She can't be serious, can she?" The templar asked, but the warden paid no attention to him.

"Why have you decided to help us?" Cousland held up his hand to stop others in the group from talking. "After the things I have said, you must realize we are no easy party to travel with."

"Do you think my travels have been any easier?" She blurted out before thinking. Her eyes went wide, but the elf who had pushed her into camp chuckled.

"She has a point, no?"

"To answer your question. It seems like Gray Wardens need all the help they can get and…and I thought perhaps helping you could help ease my way back into the Circle." Awena wanted to cringe as she said those words, but she would do anything to get this job done. Besides, she only had to keep up the ruse for as long as it took her to get the ring into Morrigan's bag and then she could be gone.

"You stand beside her, Wynne?" Cousland's dark features were hard to read.

"I do." Wynne nodded her head.

"What do the rest of you believe?" Harlin eyed the different members of his group.

"I believe the Maker brought her to us, we should not refuse His gifts." The redheaded woman spoke with a thick Orlesian accent.

There is always room for another beautiful woman, at leas…this is what I believe." The blonde elf gave her a wink.

"Stay or go, I care not." Morrigan waved her hand and Awena felt her temper flare, that woman was insufferable in every definition of the word.

"Agreed," Grumbled the Qunari. "We've wasted enough time here, don't we have a Blight to end?"

"Fine, I shall not turn away help when it is offered." Cousland offered his hand. "Welcome to our group, Awena."

"Thank you, and since I am helping you…you are heading the completely wrong direction if you want to get to Haven." Awena brushed off her robes, noticing how shabby she looked in comparison with the other party members. "It's more to the North, straight up that mountain."

"Of course," Harlin ran a hand over his head. "We've been wondering around this group of mountains for days trying to find that village. You may set up camp wherever you see fit."

Harlin moved off to the side, pulling the other Warden along behind him. Awena's surveyed the camp, not sure where the best place to sleep would be. Maybe she could set up camp far away for the others, then when she left it wouldn't be as noticeable. Her personal motto since her escape had been :_if you don't touch, you can't get hurt_ and she wasn't about to go about befriending these people just to leave them.

"Do you have a tent, dear?" She felt Wynne's hands on her shoulder and looked up into the woman's face. She looked older than she remembered, like Wynne had seen horrors beyond what the normal human should. Awena shook her head. She had nothing, really. A ragged blanket she had stolen from Owain and her staff.

"She could always sleep with me, I hate sleeping alone." The flaxen-haired elf gave her a charming smile and she felt herself blush.

"No, Zeveran, she will stay with me until we can get her something." Wynne sighed. "Let me get a spot ready for you."

Awena watched Wynne go, wondering what she would do with herself. That was when the raised voice of the second Gray Warden got her attention.

"Andraste's flaming sword, Harlin, first Morrigan, then Zeveran, and now her. How many more potential enemies are you going to let into our group?" Awena watched the interaction between Harlin and the other man. Harlin's face was taut with an unreadable emotion and the second Warden was distraught, his hands waving about with each of his words.

"Enough, Alistair, she joins us. We need help where ever we can get it." They may have stepped away from the fire, but their words easily carried over to her ears.

"But she is an apostate, **another** apostate." The one called Alistair stressed. "Won't this just add to our problems?"

"Alistair?" Questioned Harlin

"What?"

"Your Templar is showing." Harlin punched Alistair in the arm to lighten the mood, but Awena felt her heart drop. She had been right, he was a templar. The fire blazed higher and the two men were temporarily removed from sight. She felt a small twinge of disappointment. What it was for, she could not have said nor did she want to find out.

"Alright, alright, I suppose your right." The two men continued their conversation, but Awena no longer cared to listen. She turned her eyes to Wynne coming out of her tent and wondered why, in a group of people, she felt more alone than she had for the past three years.


End file.
